Patentable/Patents/US-6836390
US-6836390

Hard disk drive comprising a flexible printed circuit with a hole

PublishedDecember 28, 2004
Assigneenot available in USPTO data we have
Inventorsnot available in USPTO data we have
Technical Abstract

A hard disk drive is formed of head signal patterns, voltage patterns, a ground pattern, and a current pattern, and characterized in having a flexible printed circuit (FPC) with a hole between the head signal patterns, and the voltage patterns, the ground pattern, and the current pattern. The effect of noise on the head signal patterns is reduced in the provided hard disk drive, and vibration energy at a specific low frequency band is reduced to minimize effects on a servo control and to improve overall performance of the hard disk drive.

Patent Claims
14 claims

Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.

1

1. A hard disk drive having an actuator with a magnetic head to write and read information to and from a disk, a voice coil motor to drive the actuator, a flexible printed circuit (FPC) to transfer electric signals to the actuator and the voice coil motor, and a bracket to support the FPC, the hard disk drive further comprising: the FPC formed of head signal patterns, voltage patterns, a ground pattern, and a current pattern, wherein a hole is formed between the head signal patterns, and the voltage patterns, the ground pattern, and the current pattern.

2

2. The hard disk drive of claim 1 , wherein the starting point of non-contact between the FPC and the bracket, and the starting point of non-contact between the FPC and the actuator are arranged with the hole therebetween.

3

3. The hard disk drive of claim 1 , wherein the hole is a slot aligned with the signal patterns.

4

4. The hard disk drive of claim 1 , wherein the hole comprises slots aligned with the signal patterns.

5

5. The hard disk drive of claim 3 , wherein the edges of the slot are formed in a round shape.

6

6. The hard disk drive of claim 4 , wherein the edges of the slots are formed in a round shape.

7

7. The hard disk drive of claim 2 , wherein the hole is a slot aligned with the signal patterns.

8

8. The hard disk drive of claim 2 , wherein the hole comprises slots aligned with the signal patterns.

9

9. The hard disk drive of claim 7 , wherein the edges of the slot are formed in a round shape.

10

10. The hard disk drive of claim 8 , wherein the edges of the slots are formed in a round shape.

11

11. A hard disk drive having an actuator to write and read information to and from a disk, and a voice coil motor controlling the actuator, the hard disk drive further comprising: a bracket connected with a printed circuit board; and an FPC formed of electrical circuit patterns and connected to the PCB at one end through the bracket and to the actuator at the other end, wherein at least one hole is formed in the FPC between predetermined ones of the circuit patterns to reduce noise and vibration energy.

12

12. The hard disk drive of claim 11 , wherein a starting point of non-contact between the FPC and the bracket, and the starting point between the FPC and the actuator are arranged with a slot-shaped hole therebetween.

13

13. The hard disk drive of claim 11 , wherein a starting point of non-contact between the FPC and the bracket, and the starting point between the FPC and the actuator are arranged with three slot-shaped holes therebetween.

14

14. The hard disk drive of claim 11 , wherein one of the at least one hole has a size of half of a hole that would reduce the vibration energy at 340 Hz frequency band is formed in the FPC in order to reduce the vibration energy at 740 Hz frequency band.

Classification Codes (CPC)

Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.

Patent Metadata

Filing Date

November 6, 2002

Publication Date

December 28, 2004

Want to explore more patents?

Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.

Citation & reuse

Analysis on this page is generated by Patentable — an AI-powered patent intelligence platform. AI-generated summaries, explanations, and analysis may be reused with attribution and a visible link back to the canonical URL below. Patent abstracts and claims are USPTO public domain.

Cite as: Patentable. “Hard disk drive comprising a flexible printed circuit with a hole” (US-6836390). https://patentable.app/patents/US-6836390

© 2026 Patentable. All rights reserved.

Patentable is a research and drafting-assistant tool, not a law firm, and does not provide legal advice. Documents we generate are drafts for review by a licensed patent attorney.